Another Head Bump Sensitivity Topic
 

I have been asking myself if I have a head movement/bump sensitivity and just don't know it, and that I am prolonging some of my symptoms without knowing it. I guess I am just calling on those who are sensitive to movements more than me how they know when it bothers them. The day after, or immediately? Do symptoms flair up or do you have some sensation in your head from the movement?

This has just been on my mind, and I even stopped running and switched to biking, but even then I get anxious with every bump and pot hole. I can't even ride in the car with someone else, and I have to be driving because I am so worked up as to if they'll bump a curb or hit pot holes.

If you think you will experience symptoms from a minor bump, it is very likely that you will. We train our brains and minds how to respond. Walking down a step will cause a transmission of impact to our head. There are many things we do that cause repeated 'bumps' but we ignore them because we don't consider them as bumps. We choose to define bumps and then respond in anxiety.

Many times, a bump causes a reaction because of the startle factor. We did not expect it and it startled us and our anxiety kicks in.

As you say, you get anxious. This needs to be addressed. Some need meds. Others do well with CBT or other therapy. Desensitization therapy can help.

I've never known anybody who had a delayed reaction to a bump. Delayed reactions can be from over-stimulation. I think many of these delayed reactions are do to poor sleep from the over-stim or other triggers.

Everything you said makes sense and I agree with it. As I have gotten back into working at my new job, I keep being very objective and living in the moment, realizing that I can work with symptoms and just be careful working with the brain I have. I can tell you that I would not have lasted at my job if I had not gotten my anxiety under control. I have been on Celexa a few months and CBT did help, but it was not enough on its own. I still get anxious, but I know it takes effort on my end to change behaviors and cognition that causes anxiety. Mental health is just like physical health; it needs to be maintained and can take effort to do so.

I just question head sensitivity because I still have not pinpointed what caused my setback that made me worse off than I was even before I hit my head. Evidence points towards the chiropractor adjustment that slipped, but I just don't want to have that happen again.

What do you mean by chiro adjustment that slipped ?

"because I still have not pinpointed what caused my setback that made me worse off than I was even before I hit my head. "

You will never fully understand PCS. You will likely never know what caused your setback. Sometimes, we can connect triggers to symptoms but that usually means the trigger and symptoms are repeatable. One time setbacks are almost impossible to understand.

It appear you have not got your anxiety under control. A continuing compulsion to understand is symptom of your continuing anxiety.

One thing you need to avoid is quite simple. If a chiro or doctor or functional neurologist says "I can fix that" or " All you need to do is ....." , Do not believe them. There are no such fixes. I can tell you that resolving anxiety will be a big step toward resolving the other symptoms but still not a fix.

Adjustments can slip back out of place, usually due to a muscle spasms pulling it out, or muscle memory if it was out for a long time...
The body may think the old position was the normal one, so tries to go back to that.
Then you need to get re adjusted or checked for that..it may take more than a few visit for it to stay in place.
If spasms /muscle tightness is the cause , those need to be addressed for best results.

The chiro I went to did soft tissue work as well as adjusting..

I also strained my neck after the adjustment, which I have since learned is not a good thing as it can cause this type of stuff. The jolt from the adjustment could have also triggered BPPV again. Either way I have not gone back to a traditional chiropractor since.

Understanding my setback is not an anxious compulsion. I wish to know what happened as it was not like any other "normal" setbacks I had previously and was not consistent with any symptoms I had before. I just would like to know so I do not repeat what happened. I have gotten back into something that resembles a normal life, and I don't want to jeopardize it by having that reoccur. I think you need to look at my username. Engineers have a need to understand the root of a problem and are analytical. Some anxiety and stress is normal and is part of being human, is it not?

If the chiro did a 'twist the head and pop the neck' adjustment, they can cause some light trauma and inflammation. This is not usually a long term issue.

I have an engineers mind, too. That need to understand everything is well understood. But, a 'one off' event is very difficult to trace to the trigger. If it was 'every time I do xyz' situation, there could be some tracking. Learning to moderate the engineer's need to understand will serve you well. I grew up with a family of engineer minds. The neurotic like stress was not healthy. Not every question can or needs to be answered. Some situations just "are" without explanation.

A single miserable night's sleep can be problematic. An emotional event can too. A thought that triggers a 'I messed myself up' thought that replays over and over can, too. We have seen many of those. Sometimes, we relapse without any identifiable stressors or traumas. It is just the nature of PCS.

Learning to go with the flow without reacting can be beneficial.

I had to slow down and moderate my thought intensity. I can increase such intensity but I will pay for it afterward. For me, short bursts of thought intensity of my engineer's mind are OK if I reduce such intensity after a short period. I know I cannot live the way I used too.

The high tech industry has realized this need, even with the normal, never concussed mind. Breaks with distractions give the mind a break to recharge for the next intense effort. Few are successful at maintaining intensity for long periods.

I had a bad setback about 4 weeks ago and I never found out what caused it.
My sleep is always bad, so I don't think that's what caused it.
Ever since than my head seems to be more sensitive again. Around April this year I thouth PCS would finally be over (after over two years), I was feeling very good.

Then reality hit me with that setback and now my anxiety is worse than before. I do not know how to stop it.

I can't even think about running or biking. I also do not get into the car with someone else. I am afraid of them not being careful with bumps

For what its worth, I too wondered the same thing, but for me, I noticed that when I cycled longer, it was likely my vestibular issues being aggravated and possibly causing the PCS symptoms to return.
I could be wrong here, but just something for you to consider.

I agree and never thought about how the jarring and impact of running can aggravate the vestibular system until I started biking with the same amount of cardio intensity resulting in less symptoms.